Wake Forest hires Jennifer Hoover as new women's basketball coach

Jennifer Hoover, Wake Forest's all-time leading scorer and rebounder, was hired as the Demon Deacons' new women's basketball coach on Wednesday.

Hoover, a long-time assistant who went 20-13 at High Point in her first try as a head coach this past season, was a three-time All-ACC honoree during her playing career at Wake Forest.

The Panthers fell to top-seeded Liberty in the Big South title game and lost 88-78 at N.C. State in the first round of the WNIT tournament.

Hoover, a 1991 Wake Forest grad, amassed 1,728 points and 1,006 rebounds in her time with the Demon Deacons.

Hoover got her first head-coaching job at High Point last April, but she started her coaching career in 1994 as an assistant at Missouri-Kanssa City.

She came to High Point after a three-year stint on current Virginia coach Joanne Boyle's staff at California in which she helped the Golden Bears reel in back-to-back, top-10 recruiting classes.

Hoover was as an assistant under legendary coach Debbie Ryan at Virginia from 2003 to 2007, serving as recruiting coordinator the final two seasons and helping the team bring in two top-15 recruiting classes.

"One of the biggest things about playing and coaching in that conference is the legendary coaches in that league," Hoover said before the ACC women's tournament in March. "It taught me about the game at the highest level and how to be successful at the highest level."

Her path back to Wake Forest also included two one-year stints at Memphis (2002-03 and 2007-08), along with posts at Virginia Commonwealth (1996-98), East Carolina (1998-2000) and James Madison (2000-02).

Hoover replaces Mike Petersen, who compiled a 125-123 record over eight seasons with the Demon Deacons before taking the head job at North Texas on April 16.

Wake Forest went 20-14 this past season with a 7-9 mark in the ACC, bowing out in the second round of the WNIT to James Madison, an 84-76 overtime loss.

The Demon Deacons are set to return three starters off that team, including leading scorer Lakevia Boykin (12.2 points per game), a rising senior.